When Claudia Arizmendi first came to Canada from Mexico 25 years ago, she didn’t plan to open a successful retail bakery. However, that changed when Claudia started baking cupcakes more than ten years ago, infusing them with Mexican flavours such as ancho, chipotle, dulce de leche and mango. After graduating from the Baking and Pastry Arts program at Algonquin College, Claudia’s entrepreneurial spirit took over as she launched The Cupcake Lounge in 2011 in the ByWard Market. Two years later, she opened a second, larger shop in Westboro, with an ever-expanding menu of treats.
“It has been fun to develop new items for people to fall in love with,” says Claudia. “We may have started with cupcakes, but from the beginning the vision was to offer a range of perfect single serving desserts made with premium ingredients. We use dark Belgian chocolate, pure Madagascar bourbon vanilla and almost every type of fruit imaginable.”
Aside from their top-quality and inventive ingredients, what really sets the 50 different rotating flavours of cupcakes apart, is that each one is iced by hand with a spatula. They are also all-natural and baked fresh daily. Best sellers include lemon coconut, German chocolate, chocolate marshmallow ganache and strawberry champagne. To top things off, you can also find vegan, reduced sugar and gluten-free options. Other single serving treats include alfajores, cake pops, cinnamon rolls, fruit tarts, mini cheesecakes, and ice cream sandwiches.
Last summer, The Cupcake Lounge started making Mexican-style paletas (gelato or sorbet on a stick). All of their “frulli” line of ice pops or popsicles are made from 100% pure fruit, juice and milk. Popular flavours include basil tangerine, cafe latte, dulce de leche, strawberry champagne, strawberry kiwi, and yogurt berry. This summer, creamsicles like banana with peanut butter filling and strawberry filled with condensed milk are coming.
Offering a high-end atmosphere in a cozy neighbourhood shop, the Cupcake Lounge has several popular activities, including cupcake decorating parties for kids or adults plus guided wine and cupcake tastings. Custom orders of cakes, cupcakes and dessert tables are always welcome.
The Cupcake Lounge
324 Richmond Road and 6 ByWard Market Square
facebook.com/TheCupcakeLoungeInc
twitter.com/cupcakesottawa
instagram.com/thecupcakeloungeottawa
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